Curtain.



Patented Nov. l4,l899. A, A. FRANKL.

0 U R TAI N (Application filed Nov. 536, 1897.)

(No Model.)

Wifgzsszs n (L m: NORRIS PETERS o0. PMGTD-LITHD, wnsumamu UNITED STATES" PATENT FFICE.

ALBERT A. FRANKL, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO JULIUS M. GUINZBURG, OF SAME PLACE.

CURTAIN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 636,787, dated November 14, 189

Application filed November 26, 1897. Serial No. 659,879. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT A. FRANKL, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York city, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Curtain, of which the following is a specification.

The purpose of this invention is to provide a shade or curtain principallydesigned for use in connection with cars and public and other conveyances which will protect the occupant from inclement weather and yet admit of passing objects being observed.

In street-rall way and suburban traffic open cars are used during the summer season, and during wet or inclement weather they are closed in by shades or curtains, which latter protect the passengers. These shades or curtains when drawn shut oif observation and when pulled aside subject the passenger to the discomfort and annoyance of being wet during a storm.

It is the purpose of the present invention to provide the shades or curtains with a transparent section or panel which will exclude rain and permit the observation of points along the route of travel, said section being flexible, so as to roll with the shade or curtain upon the ordinary roller.

A further purpose of the invention is to combine with the shade or curtain a flap for covering the transparent section or panel to exclude the ,rays of the sun when desired, said flap being permanently attached along one edge to a portion of the shade bordering upon the transparent section or panel, and in order that the flap may drop out of the way when it is not required to obstruct the transparent section it is secured at its bottom edge to the portion of the shade adjacent to the lower edge of the transparent section or panel.

For a full understanding of the merits and advantages of the invention reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings and the following description.

The improvement is susceptible of various changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details of construction without departing from the principle or sacrificing any of the advantages thereof, and to a full disclosure of the invention an adaptation thereof is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which-+- Figure 1 is a front view of a curtain or shade embodying the features of this invention, the flap being turned down. Fig. 2 is a detail section showing the flap covering the transparentsection or panel. Fig. 3 is aview similar to Fig. 2, showing the flap turned down.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and indicated in the several views of the drawings by the same reference characters.

The shade or curtain 1 may be of any of the usual forms, according to the purpose and place for which it is adapted, and is secured at one end to a roller 2, upon which it Winds when out of the way.

In accordance with this invention the shade or curtain at a convenient point is provided with a transparent panel or section 3, which is preferably flexible, so as to roll upon the part 2, and this panel or section is set in an opening cut in the shade or curtain, said opening being reinforced by strips or tapes, which latter conceal and protect the edges of the panel or section 3.

The size and shape of the transparent panel or section may be varied; but it is preferred to have it of rectangular form and extend nearly the entire width of thecurtain, whereby the latter will roll more smoothly upon the part 2.

In order to successfully carry out the purpose of the present invention, it is quite essential that the transparent panel or section 3 extend nearly the entire width of the curtain, so that it will evenly wind and unwind therewith on its roller; but as the winding of the transparent panel on the roller might tend to break or pucker the ends thereof a narrow strip of curtain material is left at the ends of the panel-opening to protect said ends of the transparent panel or section 3.

The flap 4 for covering the transparent panel or section 3 will generally be of the same material as the shade or curtain and is of a size to cover the part 3 entirely, so as to exclude the sunlight when desired. This flap is permanently attached at one edge to the shade or curtain, bordering upon the opening in which is placed the panel or section 3, and its opposite edge is buttoned or otherwise removably attached to the opposite portion of the shade or curtain adjacent to the other edge of the transparent panel or section. By having the flap secured orstitched ata point below the panel or section 3 it will fall away from the said panel when released at its upper edge. \Vhen it is desired to secure the protection of the shade or curtain either to exclude wind, rain, or dust and yet admit of free observation, the flap 4 is released at its upper edge and permitted to fall down out of the way, and when it is desired to exclude the suns rays and yet have the shade or curtain pulled down the flap is turned over the transparent panel or section and is secured at its upper edge by being buttoned or fastened in any desired way.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is 1. The combination with a shade or curtain having a transparent panel or section, of a flap permanently attached at its lower edge to the shade or curtain below the transparent panel or section, and means for detachably connecting the upper edge of the flap to the shade or curtain above the said transparent panel or section, substantially as described.

2. In combination, a shade or curtain havin ga flexible transparent panel or section, and a flap permanently attached to the shade below the panel or section and adapted to be detachably connected at its upper edge to the shade or curtain above the said transparent panel or section, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto afiixed my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

ALBERT A. FRAN KL.

\Vitnesses:

HENRY W. DEMPEWOLW, JANET KERsHAW. 

